Inside the October 2008 Issue

Marilyn Monroe, photographed by Bert Stern at the Hotel Bel-Air, in Los Angeles. Known as the “last sitting,” the historic shoot took place just weeks before her tragic death, in 1962.

Features

The Things She Left Behind
After Marilyn Monroe’s tragic overdose, in 1962, her possessions were scattered. Sam Kashner explores the revelations of two long-kept but never disturbed filing cabinets—along with jewels, furs, and other items—and new questions surrounding Monroe’s legacy. Cover photograph by Bert Stern.

Dead Soul
The Russian oligarchs who put Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin thought he would continue on their path of reform. Instead, the former K.G.B. spy seized power with an audacity not seen since the czars. As Russian forces display their might in Georgia, Masha Gessen shows just how dangerous Putin is.

The Battle for Mrs. Ast
The alleged abuse of philanthropist Brooke Astor by her son, Anthony Marshall, is still making headlines even after her death, last August, at age 105. As Marshall heads to trial on charges of fraud and conspiracy, John Richardson reports on Astor’s final years. Plus: A collection of V.F. articles by, and about, Mrs. Astor.

Annie Gets Her Shot
In an excerpt from her upcoming book, Annie Leibovitz at Work, the photographer shares the stories behind some of her iconic images, from Demi Moore’s naked candor to Queen Elizabeth II’s unyielding etiquette.

The Follieri Charade
With little but a link to the Vatican and a talent for hype, Raffaello Follieri charmed his way into movie star Anne Hathaway’s heart, billionaire Ron Burkle’s deep pockets, and Bill Clinton’s good graces. Now that the young Italian has landed in jail, Michael Shnayerson gets to the bottom of the jet-setting schemes.

If You Liked Nixon …
Nigel Parry and Todd S. Purdum spotlight the cast of W., director Oliver Stone’s take on the Bush presidency.

The Man Who was Texas
Glenn McCarthy, who defined the swaggering Texas oilman for 1940s America, could build a derrick faster than you can say “petroleum.” But when he decided to construct the world’s grandest hotel, in Houston, he got in over his head. In an excerpt from his new book, Bryan Burrough examines how the quintessential self-made tycoon also self-destructed.

Little Big Screen
Going to the movies used to be a sanctified rite—the hushed sense of wonder, the hypnotic flicker, the provocative visions. Now, James Wolcott argues, a golden age of TV has made the couch the place to be. Photo illustration by Jacques del Conte.

Tuesdays with Rupert
Could the ruthless, gossip-mongering Rupert Murdoch be turning respectable, even—gasp!—liberal, under the influenceof his third wife, Wendi Deng? Yes and no, reports Michael Wolff, who spent many hours talking business, politics, and family with the tycoon. Photograph by Annie Leibovitz.

What a Swell Party he Wrote
After a quarter-century as V.F.’s special correspondent extraordinaire, Dominick Dunne looks back at high points (meeting with Princess Diana), poignant moments (visiting Sunny von Bülow’s bedroom), and comic outtakes (being serenaded by Imelda Marcos).

Return to the Valley of Death
For his third dispatch from the front lines of Afghanistan, Sebastian Junger rejoins an exhausted Battle Company, amid muzzle flashes, sneak attacks, and one all-too-close I.E.D. blast, to learn the changing shape of this war. Photographs by Tim Hetherington. Web special: More of Hetherington’s images.

Elizabethan Drama
In an excerpt from his memoir, actor and bon vivant George Hamilton recalls a 1987 confrontation between his squeeze of the day, Elizabeth Taylor, and an impudent paparazzo.

Hall of Fame Brad Pitt nominates Kenneth Roth, for making Human Rights Watch the scourge of tyrants everywhere. Portrait by James Nachtwey.

The V.F. Century
Launched in 1913, Vanity Fair helped put the “jazz” in the Jazz Age. Its second incarnation, born in 1983, has been held to even higher standards. As a book and traveling exhibition highlight legendary portraits from the magazine, Christopher Hitchens rings in its 25th—and 95th—anniversary. Web special: More images from the exhibit.

Special Sections

I’ll Take Manhattan: Vanity Fair’s Fall Culture Guide 2008
In a whirlwind New York City tour, Punch Hutton hits the A-number-one, top-of-the-heap places to eat, drink, shop, and sleep.

The New Establishment 2008
The economy may be in shambles, but the moguls of the V.F. 100 are still moving, shaking, merging, and acquiring. Plus: the Next Establishment, the Hall of Fame, and Five Degrees of Jean Pigozzi.